NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks rose Friday, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 index to a fresh record, as investors showed confidence that corporate earnings will not derail a rally that's headed toward a fifth week.
The S&P 500 rose 9.86 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,175.03. It surpassed its prior record set Wednesday by 0.09 percent, the latest nudge higher for a market that has taken a decidedly slow-and-steady path to all-time highs in recent weeks.
Telecom and utility stocks led the way, as they have for much of this year.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 53.62 points, or 0.3 percent, to 18,570.85. The Nasdaq composite rose 26.26, or 0.5 percent, to 5,100.16. The gains sent all three indexes to their fourth consecutive winning week, their longest streak since March.
Many doubts still hang over the market, including the continued drop for corporate earnings and a U.S. economy that is growing only modestly. But various earnings and economic reports have come in better than expected, and the S&P 500 is up nearly 9 percent since June 27.
"It's been a bit of a mixed bag, but you have to say that the earnings reports have been positive overall," said Chuck Self, chief investment officer of iSectors LLC, an Appleton, Wisc.-based asset manager. "There's certainly no trend to the negative in the earnings reports at all."
Southwestern Energy had the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after its own better-than-expected earnings report. It lost money in the latest quarter, but less than analysts estimated. The producer of natural gas and oil also raised its forecast for production this year, and its stock jumped $1.26, or 9.5 percent, to $14.47.
American Airlines Group likewise rose despite reporting a drop in revenue. It climbed $1.40, or 4 percent, to $36.36 after reporting better results than analysts expected.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 1.57 percent, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond ticked down to 2.28 percent from 2.29 percent late Thursday.
Fridays' gains were the latest in a steady march higher for stocks. The S&P 500 has not had a day where it moved by 1 percent, up or down, in the last two weeks. It's a sharp turnaround from the end of June, when worries about the United Kingdom's vote to leave the European Union sent the S&P 500 to six straight days where it swung at least 1 percent.
The biggest loss for the S&P 500 over that span was Thursday's drop of 0.4 percent. And investors quickly snapped up stocks the next day.
"The turn in economic data is what the stock market move has been discounting, stronger economic news and better earnings in the second half of the year," Doug Ramsey, the chief investment officer of Leuthold Weeden Capital Management LLC, said in an interview on Bloomberg TV. "The S&P held very firm, and this move off the February lows ... has been very powerful and broad."
Next week, the Bank of Japan and Federal Reserve both hold policy meetings. Record-low interest rates and big stimulus programs from central banks have pushed stocks higher since the financial crisis.
Japan's economy is barely growing. Economists are speculating about whether its central bank may push more stimulus next week.
The Fed pulled rates off their record low in December but has held pat since then.
The price of U.S. crude fell 56 cents, or 1.2 percent to settle at $44.19 a barrel. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 51 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $45.69 a barrel in London.
Information for this article was contributed by Stan Choe of The Associated Press and by Dani Burger and Bailey Lipschultz of Bloomberg News.
Business on 07/23/2016